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Rough Translation How are the things we're talking about being talked about somewhere else in the world? Gregory Warner tells stories that follow familiar conversations into unfamiliar territory. At a time when the world seems small but it's as hard as ever to escape our echo chambers, Rough Translation takes you places.
Rough Translation

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Rough Translation

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How are the things we're talking about being talked about somewhere else in the world? Gregory Warner tells stories that follow familiar conversations into unfamiliar territory. At a time when the world seems small but it's as hard as ever to escape our echo chambers, Rough Translation takes you places.

Most Recent Episodes

Ukraine: The Handoff

When doctors in Ukraine put out a call for abortion pills, a group of Ukrainian women answer. Oksana Drachkovska for NPR hide caption

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Oksana Drachkovska for NPR

Ukraine: The Handoff

We travel to Ukraine to follow a shipment of abortion pills, and discover a complicated conversation about pregnancy and choice in wartime. Part 2 of our collaboration with Radiolab.

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White Lies: The Men on the Roof

Cuban detainees stand on the roof of the Federal Correctional Institution in Talladega, Als., after a take over of the prison in 1991. Joe Songer/Birmingham News/Donated by Alabama Media Group /Alabama Department of Archives and History hide caption

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Joe Songer/Birmingham News/Donated by Alabama Media Group /Alabama Department of Archives and History

White Lies: The Men on the Roof

It all started with a photograph. A photograph from 1991 of a prison takeover in rural Alabama. A photograph of a group of men on the roof of that prison holding a bedsheet scrawled with a message: "Pray for us." In the first episode of the new season of White Lies, hosts Chip Brantley and Andrew Beck Grace go searching for answers to the questions raised by this photograph. Who were these men? What on earth had made them want to take over that prison? And what became of them after? As they search, they uncover a sprawling story: a mass exodus across the sea, a secret list, and the betrayal at the heart of this country's ideals. Want to hear the next episode of White Lies a week before everyone else? Sign up for Embedded+ at plus.npr.org/embedded.

White Lies: The Men on the Roof

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Ukraine: Under The Counter

A doctor sees an essential medicine is needed in Ukraine and assembles a group of strangers to get it there. Oksana Drachkovska for NPR hide caption

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Oksana Drachkovska for NPR

Ukraine: Under The Counter

One weekend. An amateur smuggling operation. A wartime mission. The story, in collaboration with Radiolab.

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Listen · 40:59
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"As Russians approach his town, 'the cat must still be fed.'"

Pavel Kuljuk's cat, Dora, sits in a window in eastern Ukraine. Pavel Kuljuk hide caption

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Pavel Kuljuk

"As Russians approach his town, 'the cat must still be fed.'"

A hyperlocal news site in Red Hook, N.Y. posts a job opening. A journalist in Ukraine applies. And what readers think of as "local news" is going to change dramatically.

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Listen · 39:56
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Alone@Work: Miles To Go Before I'm Me

Brandie Diamond stands by her FedEx Custom Critical truck in a Walmart Supercenter parking lot in Columbus, Ohio. Meg Vogel for NPR hide caption

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Meg Vogel for NPR

[email protected]: Miles To Go Before I'm Me

726 miles in one day. Gas station sushi. Mysterious loading docks. We hit the road with two American women who found long-haul trucking as a means of escape and self-transformation.

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Listen · 31:48
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Ourselves@Work: Home Is Where The Hustle Is

Author Chibundu Onuzo attends the Cliveden Literary Festival in 2021. David Levenson/Getty Images hide caption

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David Levenson/Getty Images

[email protected]: Home Is Where The Hustle Is

Nigerian novelist Chibundu Onuzo dreams of returning to Lagos, but she worries she'll struggle to adapt in the city of her birth, where the word "oppressor" is often used as a compliment. In this episode, she seeks advice from her "big boss" older brother.

[email protected]: Home Is Where The Hustle Is

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You're@Work: The Right Persona for the Job

Our personas at work are not what they used to be. Sarah Gonzales for NPR hide caption

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Sarah Gonzales for NPR

You'[email protected]: The Right Persona for the Job

Who are you at work? In this episode, two stories of people who really commit to embodying their work selves. The result? New realms and new personalities.

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Listen · 33:57
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Failing@Work: Epic Fails & Failure Epics

Founder of LEAP Africa Ndidi Nwuneli attends Barnard College's Global Symposium in 2015. J. Countess/Getty Images hide caption

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J. Countess/Getty Images

[email protected]: Epic Fails & Failure Epics

Many of us think we can't share our stories of failure until we've reached success. Some Mexico City entrepreneurs started a club to change that, and the world took notice.

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Listen · 30:19
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Stuck@Work: Your Country's Brand Is Escape, But You Can't

When Portugal forbade bosses from contacting employees after hours, international media jumped at the chance to cover the new law. Portuguese workers were oddly quiet. Why? Sarah Gonzales for NPR hide caption

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Sarah Gonzales for NPR

[email protected]: Your Country's Brand Is Escape, But You Can't

When Portugal forbade bosses from contacting employees after hours, international media jumped at the chance to cover the new law. Portuguese workers were oddly quiet. Why?

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Listen · 41:26
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Lunching@Work: When Eating at Your Desk Is Forbidden

Young women eat lunch in the Tuileries Garden in Paris in January 1929. Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images hide caption

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Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

[email protected]: When Eating at Your Desk Is Forbidden

In 2021, France suspended a law that forbids eating lunch at work. We talk to an American teacher relieved to see it go and a French historian determined to bring it back.

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Listen · 30:48
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